Test Setup

Test Setup

The drives tested on our new storage testbed, has the following system specifications:

Intel Core i5-2400 (3.1GHz)

MSI Z68A-GD80 (Intel Z68 chipset)

2 x 4GB DDR3-1600 RAM

MSI GeForce 8600GTS

Windows 7

The list of SSDs tested are as follows:

Kingmax SATA III SSD SMP35 Client (240GB) (Firmware: L0306)

Intel SSD 520 Series (240GB)

Intel SSD 510 Series (240GB)

Crucial M4 SSD (240GB)

Kingston HyperX SSD (240GB)

OCZ Vertex 3 (240GB)

Patriot Pyro SE (240GB)

Crucial C300 (64GB)

Intel X25-M Gen.2 (160GB)

The new Kingmax SMP35 Client will be pitted against the current crop of high-end consumer SSDs. It will be interesting to see how it matches Intel’s latest SSD 520 series which has been received positively thus far. Also, we want to see how it will perform against both the Kingston and OCZ drives, both of which also use the same SF-2281 controller from SandForce. Also take note that the Kingmax drive has just been flashed with the newest firmware (version L0306), which is available at Kingmax’s website.

We have also included older drives such as the Crucial C300 and even the Intel X25-M, one of the fastest drives in their heyday, to see where does the Kingmax stand against current and old drives in case you're contemplating to upgrade them.